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Friday, June 18th, 2010
Representative association of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, the American Automotive Policy Council Inc, has thrown its weight behind a proposal in Congress that discriminatory taxes levied upon car rental customers be brought to an end. It is claimed that $7.5 billion has already been charged to the American public through such charges.
President of the American Automotive Policy Council, Stephen Collins, said that discriminatory taxes on car rentals were being imposed because of the incorrect assumption that it is mostly tourists who hire vehicles, and that tourists are affluent enough to be able to pay extra when renting a car. He described that charges as a luxury tax.
Mr Collins went on to point out that figures proved that more than half of all rental vehicles were taken in neighbourhood locations by middle to low income consumers, not from airports. He said that the extra charges were clearly being misdirected and that fair taxation principles were not being applied.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee has heard the legislation entitled ‘The End Discriminatory State Taxes for Automobile Renters Act’, and if it is approved it could mean the end of local government’s ability to charge customers extra when they hire a car.
Mr Collins said that local governments were wrong to assume that those hiring vehicles were from the better off sections of society and that by taxing indiscriminately, consumers on every income level were being hurt. He added that the taxes also damaged American jobs because of their misdirected nature.
Tags: American Automotive Policy Council, car hire, car rental, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, tax
Posted in Car Rental News | Comments Off
Friday, June 4th, 2010
Car hire firm, Europcar, claims that new research shows that £65 billion is being wasted by British motorists every year because of dormant cars parked on city streets. The new research conducted by Europcar claims that owning a car in the city costs around £3.50 for every mile covered, and that’s excluding the price of fuel.
The reasoning behind the mathematics is that each week city dwellers will use their vehicles for an average of just four hours and forty minutes each week. This means that for 97 per cent of the time cars are left parked.
Taking into account the costs associated with owning a vehicle, such as insurance, parking fees, parking tickets, maintenance and the vehicles depreciation in value, dormant urban motors (DUMs) cost their owners an average of £5,328.96 every year, according to Europcar.
Two thirds of car owners in the city still opt regularly to use public transport of jump on a bike rather than face the hassle of congestion and parking by taking their car into town. Just below 50 per cent of car owners said that they would give up their car if public transport was improved or a more convenient option for travel presented itself.
Europcar’s marketing director, Catriona Lougher, said that the research showed that busy lifestyles have left our cities crammed with vehicles which rarely go anywhere. She added that by taking advantage of Europcar’s WeDeliver service, motorists can simply book a car rental for when they need it, have it delivered to their front door and collected when they have finished with it.
Tags: car hire, car rental, DUMs, Europcar, parking fees, parking tickets, public transport, WeDeliver
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Friday, April 9th, 2010
The University of Maryland is the latest US university to sign up to the Connect by Hertz car sharing scheme. Students and staff will now be able to rent a car by the hour or by the day once they have been approved for membership.
Members of the Connect by Hertz scheme will have access to three models of car – a Ford Escape, a Toyota Prius and a Mini Cooper. The idea is that those wishing to use a car for a specific reason can now simply pick one up on campus and go. The scheme is also meant to make it easier for students to car-pool to and from the main campus.
Senior vice president of global sales at Hertz Bob Stuart said that he was extremely pleased to welcome the University of Maryland to the group of universities already taking advantage of Connect by Hertz. He said that students and staff are quickly seeing the benefits of car-sharing and trust the product that Hertz is providing.
All who sign up as members of Connect by Hertz during April will have their membership fees waived. Application fees for those at the University of Maryland will also be waived for the first six months.
In order to qualify for the scheme, applicants must be over the age of 18-years and hold a clean driver’s licence. Proof of address and a credit or debit card are also required. Rates for vehicle hire start at $8 per hour and $62 per day.
Tags: car sharing, Connect by Hertz, Ford Escape, Hertz, Mini Cooper, Toyota Prius
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Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Aimed at both attracting more business customers as well as showing its shareholders that it is beating the competition, National Car Rental has unveiled its new advertising campaign. The press ad, which has already been printed in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, claims that National Car Rental is passing the competition.
The full page spread features a green National Car Rental vehicle overtaking a yellow car with the Hertz logo on its bonnet and a red car with the Avis emblem clearly visible. The ad was developed after a nationwide survey indicated that National’s Emerald Club loyalty program was preferred above the competition.
Vice president of marketing and communications for Enterprise Holdings (which bought National in 2007), Pat Farrell, said that the print ads would be running in various travel publications aimed at the business community as well as a number of national newspapers. He said that the campaign was due to run through the middle of the summer.
The National Car Rental brand had to traverse some tough times at the beginning of the decade including having to operate while bankrupt for a few years. Farrell said that he hoped that the new campaign would show customers, in particular corporate customers, that National is a brand that just keeps on improving.
Since being taken over by Enterprise a number of changes have taken place at National and the print campaign is the company’s first to highlight what those management changes have achieved. Farrell said that the Enterprise brand has always been a popular choice with big companies in the US and that now more and more people were choosing National.
Tags: Avis, Emerald Club, Enterprise Holdings, Hertz, National, National Car Rental
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Thursday, April 1st, 2010
The Colorado Springs police department is looking for the driver who abandoned a rented Chevrolet Aveo car splattered with blood. Investigators are treating the situation as suspicious, but at this point, have not found any indication of foul play.
The police said that Cindy French, the manager of the auto paint shop Finish Master, arrived early to her office and found the vehicle parked in the open bay with blood on and around it. The police immediately responded to the scene and searched the car. No bodies were found.
The abandoned Chevrolet Aveo car, with an Arizona licence plate, had blood on its front fender, hood and trunk. Sgt Dave Gilman of the Colorado Springs Police Department said that there are still lots of unanswered questions surrounding the case. The police are still searching for the person who abandoned the car.
The manager of Finish Master, who first discovered the car, said that she did not notice the blood on the vehicle right away. French added that she only saw it on the ground when she came nearer the car.
Greg Petherick, a police officer from Colorado Springs, said that other than the blood, there is no evidence of foul play.
Meanwhile, the police confirmed that the car belongs to Hertz and that it was stolen from the renter. Investigators had already interrogated the renter and found him not guilty. Currently, no suspect has been identified.
Tags: Chevrolet Aveo, Colorado Springs Police Department, Finish Master, Hertz
Posted in Car Rental News | Comments Off
Friday, March 12th, 2010
A hassle-free buying scheme for used car with low pricing can now be experienced by used-car shoppers from Hertz’s new Rent2Buy program. Rent2Buy provides shoppers with an extensive choice of reliable, used rental cars and a three-day test drive prior to buying.
Rent2Buy is a web-based car sales scheme which allows buyers to reserve the vehicle they like to purchase. Customers will have then full use of the car for three days, and if the shopper chooses to buy it, they simply keep the vehicle and pay the price without any haggling. But if the customer chooses not to buy the unit, the car will be returned to Hertz and the transaction is considered as a standard leasing – with a $49 daily rental charge, or a $99 fee for luxury vehicles like Mercedes E Class and Corvettes.
John Thomas, Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management, said Hertz had already sold hundreds of vehicles online with Rent2Buy. Consumers have been very cautious about purchasing automobiles. But with the help of the scheme, shoppers are able to test drive the cars for three days to determine whether the unit suits their lifestyle.
A wide selection of vehicles are currently offered under Rent2Buy – including Audi, BMW, Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Mercedes, Nissan, Volkswagen and Mazda. Purchases made through Rent2Buy include an all-inclusive warranty for 60 days. Currently, Rent2Buy is available in 18 states in the US and will be expanding to 37 more states by the end of 2010.
Tags: Audi, bmw, Chevrolet, Corvettes, Ford, Hertz, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Rent2Buy, Volkswagen
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Pinnacle Airlines cancelled one of their flights recently for a very novel reason, two flight attendants got into a debate that according to some witnesses led to fisticuffs. The spat began just before takeoff.
The pilot ordered the travelers on board the flight to leave the plane just after the two women decided to go at each other. The flight was scheduled to leave Rochester (New York) and arrive in Atlanta (Georgia). One of the passengers stated that the captain made them disembark because the attendants’ arguments came to blows.
A Pinnacle Airlines representative stated that the argument broke out after one of the passengers felt sick. He added that there were no injuries and the brawl was verbal.
Notwithstanding the fact that there was no physical contact, the airhostesses have been suspended from duty while an airline investigation is carried out. Alternative travel plans were made for the people onboard. The acts that were described are not acceptable by the airline’s standards.
Another commuter said that they told everyone that they had to get off the plane, because of the clash. There was no physical contact between the two women despite what others may have said. The fight between the two was completely a verbal disagreement, and this is something that can sometimes happen in the workplace from time to time.
Tags: brawl airhostess, Pinnacle Airlines, pinnacle brawl, pinnacle flight
Posted in Travel News | Comments Off
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
British Airways seems to be unimpressed by the fact that Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary at the trade union Unite has said that if a strike by BA cabin crew goes ahead it will not take place during the Easter holidays. McCluskey announced that the union wanted to avoid dates when families were most likely to be travelling together so they would be able to book their holidays with confidence. A spokesman for BA has said that he doubts such a promise will be of much comfort for all those who need to travel on dates not included in the Easter holiday calendar.
If members of BA’s 12,000 cabin crew decide to strike then they will be legally allowed to do so at some point after March 1st. This will of course depend on whether or not Unite have ironed out the creases in their balloting system which wrecked the chance of a walkout over Christmas. The High Court ruled the strike planned for the festive season unlawful because some of the ballots cast in favour of strike action were by employees who had already taken the voluntary redundancy packages offered to them. This irregularity meant that millions of BA passengers avoided the consequences of a twelve-day walk out over the holidays.
Unite is continuing to argue with Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive about staff cuts and pay reductions. Walsh has announced that BA will be offering training to all staff who wish to take the place of members of the airline’s cabin crew should they choose to walk out.
Tags: BA, ballots, British Airways, cabin crew, Easter holidays, High Court, redundancy packages, Unite, willie walsh
Posted in Travel News | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
A recent survey of 1,000 drivers in the U.K. shows that stress brought on by the effects of the economic crisis is causing a lack of sleep, more dependence on alcohol and health problems. The poll was conducted by car hire comparison site Carrentals.co.uk and shows that money worries could be impacting on the driving capabilities of many of the country’s drivers.
Over half of the men who responded to the survey admitted that they often get behind the wheel when they know they have not had an adequate amount of sleep. 44% of women who replied also said they drove when they were too tired to do so. Gareth Robinson, managing director of Carrentals.co.uk points out that 20% of all accidents on the road come down to drivers being too tired. Residents in London reported that they were most likely not to get enough sleep whereas most people in the North East claimed to be able to manage at least seven hours per night.
Nearly 25% of those questioned admitted to turning to alcohol as a way of dealing with financial worries. Those aged between 41 and 50 were most likely to drink. Those in the age group were also most likely to have encountered an increase in their mortgage repayments, pay cuts and job losses.
Female drivers admitted that stress was causing them health problems. Headaches were the most common problem followed by panic attacks. Over 50% said that because of stress they also suffered from breathing difficulties.
Tags: alcohol, carrentals.co.uk, economic crisis, financial worries, Gareth Robinson, health problems, job losses, mortgage repayments, pay cuts
Posted in Health & Environment | Comments Off
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
Car rental firm Sixt has been voted top car hire company for 2009 by Travel and Leisure Magazine. Sixt received its award alongside other prestigious travel companies such as Singapore Airlines and Virgin America. The awards are given out to those companies which excel in the travel industry and are voted for by over 300,000 professionals within the travel sector. On learning that Sixt had managed to secure the top spot the company’s U.K. managing director, Ian Lawrence was quick to point out that the award was particularly special because it was the consumer who had voted to give it to Sixt. He said that he was excited that Sixt was being presented with the award alongside a number of other extremely prestigious names in the travel industry. He went on to say that Sixt was constantly trying to make its product and its service the best it could be whether it was an executive renting a vehicle for business from them or a family wishing to spend some time together.
Malcolm Cooper from Sixt U.A.E. said that it was the confidence that customers had in the rental firm that pushed Sixt to constantly try to supply a better service to them. He said that Sixt offices around the world would be inspired to try as hard as they possibly could to deliver excellence to those wishing to hire a car through their offices.
Sixt car hire is available at over 3,500 different locations around the world in more than 90 countries.
Tags: award, car hire, car rental, Singapore Airlines, Sixt, Travel and Leisure Magazine, Virgin America
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